Chronic pain has a way of slowly taking over your life. You eventually reach the point where everything revolves around your pain, and I do mean everything. Over the years I have tried a fair amount of different hobbies. All in search of something that clicks and allows for a passionate distraction.

It was definitely not an easy road but I regret nothing. It led me to completely turning my life around! I have learned that it is not enough to take up a hobby, you actually have to tailor it to your needs. There is no “one-size fits-all” option for anyone living with chronic pain. It’s all about creating exactly what works for you.

These 6 hobbies are my final picks, which I practice every day. These star picks have led to monumental improvements in my health, pain levels and overall quality of life! I hope this gives you a better idea of what you need to do to start feeling better. Remember that the real trick lies in adapting each hobby to your exact needs.

1. MEDITATION

Meditation allows you to get in touch with your body and learn how to better control it, this being everything from your thoughts and emotions to your breathing patterns.

This is great for managing stress, anxiety and pain.

The lowered anxiety you experience will directly translate into less pain. Anxiety can single-handedly send any chronic pain sufferer into an unexpected flare.

This means that having a better hold on anxiety and stress is a huge win! Also, learning to better control your thoughts and emotions can go a long way to improving your overall quality of life. Choose a quiet corner in your house and set up a little meditation nook. You can always sign up to a guided meditation class or simply stay home and make your own routine.

YOUTUBE has millions of awesome videos to get you started! (same for meditation music).

Invest in the following items to help you get as comfortable as possible when you meditate, as it involves being in one spot for a while:

2. READING & WRITING

Reading opens your mind like nothing else does, allowing you to learn as much as you want throughout your life.

Do you want to be successful? This is the way to achieve it, guaranteed.

Anyone living with chronic pain and illness can begin to take control of their life simply by picking up a book. The options are endless but you can choose to focus your reading on specific topics that best relate to what you need to improve your quality of life

Break the cycle a get to reading!

By the way, Remember the position in which you read will have a huge impact on how you feel. We tend to slouch when reading for extended periods of time. Do your best to be aware, maintain proper posture and avoid incorrect positioning when reading. Believe me when I say that If you skip this step you have some rough days ahead of you! Let’s not add more problems to the mix.

There are few things that are as effective at unleashing your creative side as writing.

We’re talking about an open field of creation that runs eternally just waiting for you to begin building. All straight from the confines of your very own mind. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Let the artist in you spill onto a blinking white screen.

Writing gives you total freedom to unleash your thoughts and emotions on a blank sheet of possibilities and believe me when I say, it really helps! Write about anything you want from a personal journals, articles or even movie screen plays.

The beauty of this hobby lies within the freedom it provides.

Writing is a great skill for making amazing income straight from your home, requiring little set-up before you can start making real money. I personally have been able to greatly improve my quality of life thanks to taking up ONLINE WRITING. This was more than welcomed as it opened up more time to care for myself.

I did have one issue when I took up writing.

Being on the computer extended periods of time aggravated my pain to no end. This small inconvenience led to quite a lot of research (thank you hobby #2). Said research helped me find the best tools to minimize pain while writing.

3. YOGA & LOW-IMPACT EXERCISE

Yoga allows you to extensively stretch your muscles and ligaments in proper form while generating little or no impact on your joints (depending on what routine you choose). Not only does it help with mobility and flexibility but it also tones core muscles, which can help with back pain.

This provides a great, healthy way to effectively fight pain, stiffness and joint inflammation while providing your body with many other essential health benefits.

Yoga also has a high focus on breathing (much like meditation) which can be very relevant in most chronic pain scenarios. It may not seem like it right of the bat but this particular hobby is amazing when it comes to managing pain.

Last but not least, Yoga is won’t break the bank!

Physical activity and exercise are crucial for our body to function at its best, even more so for people living with chronic pain. The combination of chemical reactions that occur in the body during a workout can have a huge impact on how we feel. It improves how we feel regarding pain and pretty much everything else!

Exercising will not only lower your pain level but also help to keep anxiety and stress away.

This will effectively decrease your overall discomfort further. The physical activity will also help keep your weight under better control. When you combine this with a healthy diet and exercise you can really turn your life around!

Much like a mentioned for yoga, you must take it slow and find the workout that best works for you. This is not a race to see who gets to the top first, It’s a marathon to see who can reach the finish line in the best possible shape.

Your goal must be to decrease pain while preserving your body as best you can.

I have found that PLANK EXERCISES are by far of the the best routines for chronic pain.

They allow for amazing benefits with minimal joint damage.

I have found that sometimes a combination of different activities allows me to get a better workout. Doing this also allows me to avoid over-straining any particular part of my body too much.

Here are some other low-impact physical activities that are great for managing pain.

Swimming

Walking

Resistance Band Training

4. COOKING

Learning how to cook gives you a deeper appreciation for proper food preparation. Cooking allows you to be creative with what you eat. This makes eating healthy a much more enjoyable experience.

What you eat is the main factor that will determine how good or bad you feel on any given day.

It makes sense to be involved and in control of that one, very important aspect of your health. By doing this you will gain a higher level of control over your life and how you feel. This translates into nothing but positive changes in your life!

Final Thoughts

As we know, chronic pain varies greatly from one person to the next, making us all react differently to everything.

This list is based on my own experience, some things may work for you and some may not. The whole idea is that you tailor your entire daily routine to your exact needs. Make all the small adjustments along the way as needed (No one knows what you need better than you!).

One thing I do want to make perfectly clear, you WILL get better if you start down this road.

Chronic pain, in many cases, is not curable but it sure as hell is manageable. It took me 7 years to wise up and start changing my life for the better. Although it has been (and continues to be) a very rough journey, I guarantee you that I would be a thousand times worse off without my sacred hobbies.

Pain is a big motivator to stay put and do nothing.

You know what else is a great motivator?

Life

I hope this helps you start your own journey to living pain-free. I promise this is one decision you will not regret!